Abstract
Tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) is the third most important vegetable crop after potato (Solanum tuberosum) and onion (Allium cepa). Its production heavily involves the use of synthetic pesticides with detrimental impact on humans, insect pollinators, water sources, soil fertility and environment. This study uses different mulch types to mitigate this problem. Mulching is an agricultural technique that protects the roots of plants from heat and cold by use of inorganic and organic mulch types to cover the soil surface around plants. Tomato production in Kakamega County is below 2%. Weeds are ranked high among the yield reducing factors. This study consists of four mulch treatments of white polyethylene (0.18mm thick), maize stalks (18.0cm thick), grass clippings (18.0cm thick), guava leaves (18.0cm thick) and no mulch as control with three popularly grown tomato varieties. The mulch treatments were arranged as factorial in a completely randomized block design replicated three times in the experimental plots, at Masinde Muliro University of Science and Technology (0°171N, 34°451E). Tomato variety sub-treatments were completely randomized in the plots to minimize non–experimental bias during sampling weeds incidence. The field project was conducted during the short rains and long rains season of 2016-2017. Data obtained was subjected to analysis of variance (ANOVA) using SAS software, version 9.3 (SAS Institute lnc.) at p<0.05 confidence level. Least Significance Difference (LSD) was used to separate the means. Mean weed density was significantly highest in control plots (94.51%) and least in mulched plots (11.41%). The tomato plant growth parameters (leaf length, leaf width, stem height and stem width) were significantly higher in mulched than control plots. Mulches provide clean field sanitation, inhibits weed seed germination, promotes plant growth with high crop yields and reduces synthetic pesticides and herbicides application.
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Claims 4
Claim · model-written summary
Mulched plots had the least weed density, 11.41%, while control plots had the highest, 94.51%
- Taxon
- Tomato
Solanum lycopersicume0 - Treatment
- mulched plotse1
- Outcome
- Mean weed densitye1
- Direction
- leaste1
- Value
- 11.41%e1
- Qualifier
- 94.51%e1
- Comparator
- control plotse1
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“Tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) is the third most important vegetable crop”
e1“Mean weed density was significantly highest in control plots (94.51%) and least in mulched plots (11.41%)”
Claim · model-written summary
Mulching significantly increased tomato plant growth parameters compared with control plots
- Taxon
- TomatoSolanum lycopersicume0
- Treatment
- mulchede2
- Outcome
- tomato plant growth parameterse2
- Direction
- highere2
- Qualifier
- leaf length, leaf width, stem height and stem widthe2
- Comparator
- control plotse2
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“Tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) is the third most important vegetable crop”
e2“The tomato plant growth parameters (leaf length, leaf width, stem height and stem width) were significantly higher in mulched than control plots”
Claim · model-written summary
Mulches inhibit weed seed germination
- Taxon
- TomatoSolanum lycopersicume0
- Treatment
- Mulchese3
- Outcome
- weed seed germinatione3
- Direction
- inhibitse3
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“Tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) is the third most important vegetable crop”
e3“Mulches provide clean field sanitation, inhibits weed seed germination”
Claim · model-written summary
Mulches reduce the application of synthetic pesticides and herbicides in tomato production
- Taxon
- TomatoSolanum lycopersicume0
- Treatment
- Mulchese3
- Outcome
- synthetic pesticides and herbicides applicatione4
- Direction
- reducese4
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“Tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) is the third most important vegetable crop”
e3“Mulches provide clean field sanitation, inhibits weed seed germination”
e4“reduces synthetic pesticides and herbicides application”
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See all 55 papers →Claims are grouped by organism, treatment and what was measured or targeted. A paper counts as positive when any of its claims in the group is positive.